Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Earthquake Damage at Hazor Museum

I noted here a couple of days ago that the Hazor Museum is closed indefinitely. That closure apparently contributed to the delay in noticing that 700 objects in the museum were damaged in the recent earthquake. From the Jerusalem Post:

Most of the artifacts were excavated at the nearby Tel Hazor site. Heavy rains have prevented researchers from ascertaining whether the site itself was affected by the quake.

The damage was discovered only several days after the event, since the museum has been closed recently due to a lack of visitors. Dr. Zvika Zur, the exhibit's curator, told Channel 1 that while some of the items - many of which date back to the Canaanite era - could be mended, many others had been damaged irreparably.

HT: Joe Lauer

Vessels from 14th century B.C. tomb on display at Hazor Museum (before earthquake)

UPDATE (3/3): A few photos of the damage can be seen at the Hebrew version of articles at Haaretz and MSN.